Market News

The Cumming Harvest is open for orders!

This week I’d like to focus on Cane Creek Farm, a fantastic local farm and outdoor classroom.

CANE CREEK FARM ANNOUNCES 2016 EDUCATIONAL OFFERINGS
Opportunities for the Backyard Gardener, Experienced Farmer, and Children

At Cane Creek Farm plans are well underway for spring and the 2016 growing season with organic growing courses, a “Lunch ‘N Learn” series, and summer farm camps for children. Cane Creek Farm is located in the western part of Forsyth County with almost eighteen acres along Cane Creek. The farm has four acres in cultivation in fields of vegetables and flowers, orchard and fruit trees, berries, pastures of sheep, cows and chickens, and over 200 shitake mushroom logs.

“Providing educational opportunities is a way to live our passion of encouraging others to create a more sustainable lifestyle for themselves, their families and their communities,” says owner and farmer Lynn Pugh, a former science teacher in the Forsyth County school system who has owned and operated Cane Creek Farm since 2001.
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Organic Growing Courses
The three organic growing courses offered by Cane Creek Farm build on each other and serve to discover and deepen an understanding of using sustainable, chemical-free growing practices. Students include those wanting to begin a garden at home or enhance their current garden and the aspiring or experienced farmer wanting to learn more about organic growing practices. Although these courses are now in their 10th year, this is the first year the classroom component is offered online with an optional on-farm field experience. Lynn Pugh teaches the courses from the Georgia Organic’s organic curriculum, which she helped to develop. Classes are limited to 25 participants, and advance registration is required at www.canecreekfarm.net.

“We want to reach those who may not live nearby by offering much of the course content online, and those who are able will find the field experience to be fun hands-on learning and a good way to connect with classmates,” says Pugh. “About a third of our past participants now own and operate their own farms, and almost all students are successful backyard gardeners.”

Courses:
OGC 101 Fundamentals of Organic Growing- Online
Four sessions over eight weeks
February 27 to April 16

OGC 101F Fundamentals of Organic Growing Field Experience – On Farm
Four Saturday mornings, 9 AM to 1 PM, every other week.
March 5 – April 16

No pre-requisite or experience necessary. Topics include soil, soil management, plant anatomy and physiology, and plant reproduction.
Cost: OGC 101 and OGC 101F- $250.
OGC only 101- $150.

OGC 102 Practices of Organic Growing- Online
Four sessions over eight weeks
April 22 – June 11

OGC 102F Practices of Organic Growing Field Experience – On Farm
Four Saturday mornings, 9 AM to 1 PM, every other week.
April 30 – June 11

OGC 102 has a pre-requisite of OGC 101 or previous OGC. Topics include cover crops and weeds, pollinators, pests, pathogens, crop rotation and composting.
Cost: OGC 102 and OGC 102F – $250.
OGC 102 only – $150.

OGC 103 Business of Organic Growing – Online
Four sessions over eight weeks
June 17 – August 19

No pre-requisite required. Topics include marketing, certification, record keeping and finances.
Cost: $150

Discount if registering for all three courses with field experiences- $600.
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*Lunch ‘N Learn Series
Cane Creek Farm’s Lunch N’ Learn Series is held on the second Wednesday of each month, March through October. The active learning experiences take place at the farm, 11 AM – 1 PM, and include a simple lunch made from farm produce and ingredients. The variety of topics are geared towards the backyard farmer who can take the learnings home and implement a new sustainable practice or hobby. The classes are $35 per person, limited to 10 participants, and advance registration is required at www.canecreekfarm.net.

Topics and dates:
March 9 – Start your own vegetable and flower transplants
April 13– Plant an organic raised vegetable bed
May 11– Plant an organic cut flower bed
June 8– Herbs in the kitchen
July 13– Arrange garden flower bouquets
August 10- Plant an organic fall garden
September 14 – Identify medicinal plants and their uses
October 12– Grow shitake mushrooms, inoculate a log
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Summer Farm Camps
Cane Creek Farm offers two sessions of weeklong summer 2016 farm camps where children unplug, experience nature and learn where food really comes from. Campers participate in activities like feeding chickens and gathering eggs, composting, learning about pollinators and other beneficial insects, planting seeds, harvesting fruits and vegetables, and preparing fresh-picked produces for healthy snacks. The children gain a sense of place by exploring creeks, fields and forests while becoming familiar with the plants and animals that live in the area.

Camps are limited to 10 children per session, and advance reservation is required at www.canecreekfarm.net.

Session 1 – June TBD, 9AM – 3 PM, ages 8 to 12. $275 per child with a discount for multiple children in the same family.
Session 2 – June TBD, 9AM – 3 PM, grades 6 – 8. $275 per child with a discount for multiple children in the same family.
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About Cane Creek Farm
Cane Creek Farm has been in the Pugh Family since 1984. Its purpose is to produce fresh, healthy food to nourish the body and beautiful flowers to nourish the soul. Using sustainable growing practices, the farm protects the environment while preserving and improving the land for future generations of growers and consumers. The farm does not use chemical-based fertilizers, herbicides or pesticides, or hormones or antibiotics to their livestock.

Cane Creek Farm is the realization of farmer/owner Lynn Pugh’s dream to live a sustainable lifestyle surrounded by a community of people interested in the same pursuit. She gardened on a small scale during the 18 years she taught high school and college science while she and her husband, Chuck, raised their family. In 2001, Lynn began applying her knowledge to transform the land into the productive farm it is today.

Cane Creek Farm is a Certified Naturally Grown Farm, as this grass-roots organization best fits the farm’s philosophies and goals as a small-scale producer selling locally and directly to their customers. Seasonal CSA (Community Supported Agriculture) shares are available for purchase via the website and include a weekly variety of vegetables, fruits and fresh cut flowers.

Cane Creek Farm is located at 5110 Jekyll Road in Cumming, Georgia. For more information, call 770-889-3793 or visit www.canecreekfarm.net.

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MARKET LOCATION
Building 106, Colony Park Dr. in the Basement of Suite 100, Cumming, GA 30040.
Google Map

PICK UP HOURS
Saturday from 10-12pm.
106 Colony Park Drive, Suite 100 Cumming, GA 30040
Please contact me if you have any questions, problems or suggestions. EMAIL ME

To view the harvest today and tomorrow till 8pm, visit “The Market” page on our website, The Cumming Harvest